Andrew Leslie

[Foreign Affairs, October 17th, 2018]

‘Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty amendments, entitled “Amendments to Annex I of the International Convention against Doping in Sport”, notified on October 1, 2018; and “Amendments to Annex II of the International Convention against Doping Sport”, notified on October 1, 2018.

[International Trade, October 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the aisle and Stephen Harper said over and over that Canada needed to drop its demands and agree to a bad deal. We refused to capitulate, and we secured a good deal for Canadians. The agreement is supported by leaders on all sides, including union leader Jerry Dias, provincial premiers, and former ministers from the Conservative Party and other parties.

[International Trade, October 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the unjustified and illegal tariffs imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum are harmful to the U.S. economy and of course our own. The national security pretext has been and remains absurd.

That is why we have imposed retaliatory tariffs, and it was really in sorrow and anger, of course, that these were implemented. Now is the time for us to come together, work through, and get rid of these illegal and unjust tariffs on our steel and aluminum products.

[Foreign Affairs, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the following three treaties:

“Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for the Promotion and Protection of Investments”, done at Toronto, March 6, 2018;

“Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Moldova for the Promotion and Protection of Investments”, done at Ottawa, June 12, 2018;

“Agreement between the Government of Canada and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, in relation to the functioning of the Canadian Commissioner of Patents as an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty”, done at Geneva on September 28, 2018.

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for Canadians. We are working with the provinces and territories to make prescription drugs more affordable. We have joined the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance, which has helped Canadians save over $2 billion annually. We are investing more than $140 million to improve access to health care and support innovation in that area.

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we know how proud Canadians are of our public health care system. We will continue to work with the provinces, territories and our partners to reduce drug costs and provide timely access to drugs. This is a very important issue for our government. We look forward to attracting new medical research to Canada. Our government will always defend our public health care system.

[Foreign Affairs, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we joined our allies in exposing malicious cyber operations by the Russian military, specifically the GRU. These acts form part of a broader pattern of activities by the Russian government that flout international norms, demonstrate a disregard for international law and undermine the rules-based international order. We call on all of those who value this order to come together in its defence.

Our position towards Russia remains clear and strong. We will always stand up to these cyber-threats and we will never let Russia threaten Canadian stability or security.

[Foreign Affairs, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in short, our accomplishments are as follows: we have worked with North Korea and shown leadership on this critical issue by hosting a meeting with 20 countries in Vancouver. On Venezuela, we are an important member of the Lima Group. As for peace operations, Canada will deploy an air task force to the United Nations Mission in Mali; it is really doing a great job. Regarding Myanmar, we have responded to the crisis by providing more than $300 million. We have made other exemplary accomplishments to ensure that those responsible are—

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to watch the Conservatives find their backbone again, especially given that last year, as my colleague is well aware, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives begged us to give in and accept any deal, no matter what it cost Canadians. Thanks to our patience, our negotiating skills, and our first-rate team, we secured a great deal for Canada.

[International Trade, October 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, this is a good step for Canada.

The most important thing is that Canada has maintained its access to the American market, and we have done away with the dispute settlement system that allowed companies to sue Canada for hundreds of millions of dollars. That is no more.

We got rid of the clause that prevented our government from controlling access to our resources. The new auto sector rules will protect our workers in this industry. We have strong chapters on labour and the environment. We have protected chapter 19.